Argentine Ornithology Volume Ii Part 26

353. SPATULA PLATALEA (Vieill.).

(RED SHOVELLER.)

+Anas platalea+, _Burm. La-Plata Reise_, ii. p. 517 (Parana, Buenos Ayres). +Spatula platalea+, _Scl. et Salv. P. Z. S._ 1868, p.

143 (Buenos Ayres), et 1876, p. 396; _iid. Nomencl._ p. 130; _Durnford, Ibis_, 1877, p. 41 (Chupat), et 1878, p. 65 (Buenos Ayres) et p. 401 (Central Patagonia); _Barrows, Auk_, 1884, p.

274 (Carhue, Pampas); _Burm. P. Z. S._ 1872, p. 368.

_Description._--Above and beneath reddish, with round black spots; head and neck lighter and spots smaller; lower back blackish, barred with rufous, rump black; wings brownish black; lesser coverts blue; middle coverts white; secondaries bronzy black; outer secondaries and scapulars with white shaft-stripes; crissum black; tail brown, lateral rectrices edged with white; bill dark, feet yellow: whole length 200 inches, wing 80, tail 45. _Female_: above blackish brown, edged with rufous; lesser wing-coverts bluish; beneath buffy rufous, varied and spotted with blackish except on the throat.

_Hab._ Argentina, Patagonia, and Chili.

There is but one Shoveller Duck in South America, the present species, which is confined to the southern part of the continent, from Paraguay to Patagonia, and is familiar to sportsmen in the Plata as the Red Duck, or _Espatula_. It is seldom met with in flocks of more than twenty or thirty individuals, and a large number of birds appear to pair for life, as they are usually seen in pairs at all seasons of the year. In the autumn and winter months I have sometimes observed small flocks composed of males only, but these were perhaps young birds not yet paired. They feed in shallow water, where by plunging the head down they can reach the mud at the bottom; and when several are seen thus engaged, all with their heads and necks immersed, they look curiously like headless ducks floating on the water. When disturbed or flying the male emits a low sputtering sound, and this is its only language. They are resident and the least wary of ducks; never engage, like other species, in real or mock combats; and their flight is rapid and violent, the wings beating quickly.

354. METOPIANA PEPOSACA (Vieill.).

(ROSY-BILLED DUCK.)

+Anas peposaca+, _Burm. La-Plata Reise_, ii. p. 518 (Rio Parana).

+Metopiana peposaca+, _Scl. et Salv. P. Z. S._ 1868, p. 146 (Buenos Ayres), et 1876, p. 398; _iid. Nomencl._ p. 130; _Durnford, Ibis_, 1877, p. 192 (Buenos Ayres); _White, P. Z. S._ 1882, p.

625 (Buenos Ayres); _Barrows, Auk_, 1884, p. 274; _Scl. P. Z. S._ 1870, p. 666, pl. x.x.xvii.

_Description._--Above black, very finely striated with white on the back; back of head and neck with a purplish tinge; secondaries of wings white with black ends, and covered with the black coverts, having a white speculum; primaries greyish white, the four outer ones on their outer webs and all on their extremities black; whole belly minutely vermiculated with grey and white; crissum white; bill rosy red, enlarged at the base; feet yellowish: whole length 190 inches, wing 94, tail 28. _Female._ Above brown, bend of wing and speculum white; beneath white, breast and flanks brownish; bill dark; feet horn-colour.

_Hab._ Paraguay, Argentina, Chili, and Patagonia.

The Rosy-billed Duck, usually called "Black Duck" in the Plata, inhabits the Argentine country from Paraguay to Patagonia, and also occurs in Uruguay and Chili, but does not extend to Brazil.

A peculiar interest attaches to this species owing to the fact that it is the only freshwater Duck in the subfamily Fuligulinae, in which it is cla.s.sed. With the exception of the Loggerhead Duck (_Tachyeres cinereus_), found in the Falklands and the Magellan Straits, all the other sea-ducks of this division inhabit North and Central America; so that the Rosy-bill appears to have separated itself widely from its nearest relations geographically as well as in habits. In appearance it is a fine bird, the black plumage being frosted on the upper parts with white in a very delicate manner, while the rosy bill and large carmine caruncle and golden red iris contrast beautifully with the glossy purple head and neck. The speculum is white, the legs bright yellow. The plumage of the female is brown.

In marshy places on the pampas the Rosy-billed Duck is very abundant, and they sometimes congregate in very large flocks. They obtain their food from floating weeds in the water, and are never seen, like the Pintails and other kinds, feeding on the dry land. They rise heavily, the wings being comparatively small, and have a rapid, straight, violent flight; they are nevertheless able to perform long journeys and travel in long lines and at a considerable elevation. Their only language is a deep, hoa.r.s.e, prolonged, raven-like note, uttered by the male in the love-season. The nest is made on swampy ground near the water, of dry rushes, and is, for a duck, a deep well-made structure; the eggs are oval in form, cream-coloured, and twelve in number.

355. ERISMATURA FERRUGINEA, Eyton.

(RUSTY LAKE-DUCK.)

+Erismatura ferruginea+, _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 131; _iid. P. Z.

S._ 1876, p. 404; _Sclater, P. Z. S._ 1872, p. 549 (Rio Negro); _Burmeister, P. Z. S._ 1872, p. 368 (Buenos Ayres); _Durnford, Ibis_, 1877, p. 42 (Chupat), p. 192 (Buenos Ayres), et 1878, p.

401 (Central Patagonia).

_Description._--Above chestnut-red, whole head and neck black; wings and tail brown: beneath dirty white, sprinkled with brown; breast and flanks chestnut; bill bluish; feet brown: whole length 160 inches, wing 55, tail 38.

_Hab._ Central Peru, Chili, and Argentina.

This Lake-Duck ranges from Central Peru and the north Argentine provinces to Patagonia in the south, but is in no place a very common bird. It inhabits interior lakes and streams, living almost as much in the water as a Grebe, which in habits it resembles, remaining motionless when disturbed, but gradually sinking lower in the water, and diving, when only the head and neck are visible above the surface.

356. NOMONYX DOMINICUS (Linn.).

(WHITE-WINGED LAKE-DUCK.)

+Erismatura dominica+, _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 131; _Lee, Ibis_, 1873, p. 137 (Entrerios); _Barrows, Auk_, 1884, p. 274 (Pampas).

+Nomonyx dominicus+, _Baird, Brew., et Ridgw. Water-B. N. A._ ii.

109.

_Description._--Above ferruginous; top of head black; superciliaries and band beneath the eye with chin and cheeks whitish, with black freckles; wings brown, with a large white patch on the secondaries; tail black; abdomen dirty white, sprinkled with rufous; axillaries pure white; bill bluish; feet black: whole length 130 inches, wing 55, tail 38. _Female_: brownish black, back spotted with buffy; sides of head and body beneath ochraceous, with black cross bands.

_Hab._ West Indies and South America.

This Lake-Duck, which has an extensive range over the northern part of South America, was obtained by Mr. Lee in Entrerios, and by Mr. Barrows in the streams of the Pampas. Mr. Barrows found it a.s.sociated with Rolland's Grebe, Coots, and Gallinules, usually in small parties of from three to six individuals.

Order XI. COLUMBae.

Fam. XLI. COLUMBIDae, or PIGEONS.

The great and useful Order of Pigeons is generally diffused over the earth's surface, although most abundant within the tropics, and not met with in high Arctic or Antarctic lat.i.tudes. In the Neotropical Region from 60 to 70 species are found, and among these, although none of them can rival the Fruit-Pigeons of the Eastern Tropics, are some of remarkable beauty and grace. These brilliantly-coloured species are, however, mostly from the northern portion of the Neotropical Region. The Columbae of the Argentine Republic are in general modestly clad and fewer in number, only eight Pigeons being as yet included in the Argentine Ornis.

357. COLUMBA PICAZURO, Temm.

(PICAZURO PIGEON.)

+Pataginas maculosa+, _Burm. La-Plata Reise_, ii. p. 496 (Mendoza, Cordova, Tuc.u.man). +Columba picazuro+, _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 132; _iid. P. Z. S._ 1868, p. 143 (Buenos Ayres); _Durnford, Ibis_, 1877, p. 193 (Buenos Ayres); _Gibson, Ibis_, 1880, p. 6 (Buenos Ayres); _Barrows, Auk_, 1884, p. 274 (Entrerios).

_Description._--Above pale brown; head and neck vinous; back of neck with white cross bands which are edged with black; lower back and tail plumbeous; wings plumbeous, larger coverts broadly edged with white: beneath pale vinaceous; flanks and crissum plumbeous: whole length 140 inches, wing 80, tail 45. _Female_ similar.

_Hab._ S.E. Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina.

The Picazuro or common Wood-Pigeon of the Argentine Republic is of about the size of the domestic Pigeon, but has longer wings, and differs greatly in colour and markings. In summer it inhabits woods, and is seen in pairs or small parties, but in winter unites in flocks of from twenty to one or two hundred individuals, and roams much over the open country.

It is a wary bird, and when feeding walks on the ground in a slow and somewhat stately manner. In spring, its song resounds in the woods, and, when heard for the first time, fills the listener with wonder, so strangely human-like in tone are its long mournful notes. The notes are five, the last one long with a falling inflection, and profoundly sorrowful. The nest is a platform structure, frequently placed on a broad horizontal branch; the eggs are two, and closely resemble those of the common Rock-Pigeon of Europe.

358. COLUMBA MACULOSA, Temm.

(SPOT-WINGED PIGEON.)

+Columba maculosa+, _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 132; _Sclater, P. Z.

S._ 1872, p. 545 (Rio Negro); _Durnford, Ibis_, 1877, p. 42 (Chupat), et 1878, p. 401 (Centr. Patagonia); _White, P. Z. S._ 1882, p. 626 (Catamarca); _Barrows, Auk_, 1884, p. 274 (Entrerios).

_Description._--Above pale vinaceous brown, profusely spotted on the back and wings with white apical spots; lower back and tail plumbeous; wings and tail slaty black, the former with narrow whitish margins: beneath plumbeous, with a strong vinaceous tinge; bill black; feet yellow: whole length 130 inches, wing 85, tail 45. _Female_ similar.

_Hab._ Peru, Bolivia, Western Argentina, and Patagonia.

This Pigeon has a general resemblance to the Picazuro, but may be at once distinguished by its spotted back and wings. It ranges from South Peru through Bolivia and Western Argentina into Patagonia, where it appears to be a resident. In winter, the valley of the Rio Negro is visited by it in immense flocks, which are a great plague to the farmers, as they descend in clouds on the fields, and devour the wheat before it has time to sprout. While watching crowds of these birds feeding on the ground, I noticed that their manner was in striking contrast to that of the _C. picazuro_, which has slow and dignified motions; for it hurried about, and s.n.a.t.c.hed up its food with such rapidity that the most animated motions of other birds that feed in flocks on the ground seemed languid by comparison. This excessively lively habit is, no doubt, directly caused by the conditions of life; the sterile soil and scanty vegetation of the region it inhabits require in a species going in large bodies, and subsisting exclusively on fallen seed, a greater activity than is necessary in the rich fertile region further north.